Sunday, April 29, 2007

Independence Vulture Loop

I'm hoping to take longer rides during the weekend to help me prepare for the RAGBRAI ride in July. Last week was 24 miles, and the neighbor and I decided to try the Independence loop today. We did this last year in a clockwise direction, so we went counter-clockwise this time. The weather was fantastic, the wind was cooperative, and we had plenty of water. What a great ride!

Picture of a shady creek
We crossed this creek somewhere close to Independence

It's tough to put into words how calm this ride was. Traffic was light, and those that passed often waved, and they always waited patiently behind us on hills. Trees and wildflowers are starting to bloom, so there were neat smells everywhere. Even the skunk odor we went through added to the experience. The plants are just starting to leaf out, so we could still see into the trees, yet everything was green. It's tough to beat rural Indiana in the spring.

Picture of Wet Fields at Riverside
Soggy Fields

For some reason, the turkey vultures were out in force today. There was plenty of roadkill, and at one point, we passed a group of eight or ten birds huddled around something (hopefully a deer). I thought of the Far Side cartoon. (Hey look! I'm a cowboy. Howdy, howdy!) They all scattered into the air as we rode by.

Picture of sign - Vandalism At Work - $500 reward
Vandalism at Work
$500 Reward

We couldn't figure out what the point of this sign is. Are they labeling this dilapidated building as an example of vandalism? Perhaps to encourage it? Is someone trying to find work as a vandal? Don't know.

We modified the route slightly from last year, so we gained a couple of miles.

Miles Ridden: 35.6

UPDATE: Route here.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home